The run on Countrywide (CFC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) stock intensified Thursday morning after the struggling mortgage lender said it drew down its $11.5 billion unsecured bank credit line. The move to tap the credit line spurred bond rating cuts at Moody's and Fitch. Countrywide shares were down 18% in early trading Thursday amid fears the company will be forced into bankruptcy.
The Calabasas, Calif., lender said it made the move as it "supplemented its funding liquidity position." The announcement came just a day after Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the stock to sell from buy, saying the company could run out of money with the secondary markets for mortgage securities frozen.
